Typically, a point of sale (POS) system includes a cash drawer for holding cash tokens. The cash drawer includes multiple compartments, each for holding a different value token.
At the start of an operating period of the POS system (the start of the working day, shift period, or other working period) the cash drawer is provided with a known starting content. Over the course of the operating period, the content of the cash drawer changes as cash tokens are added and removed from the cash drawer as payment and change.
If one or more of the compartments becomes full the compartment(s) has to be emptied, leaving a small amount of tokens to be used to make change. If one or more of the separate compartments becomes empty, more tokens may need to be added, for making change.
At the end operating period, the total contents of the drawer is counted to determine a final content. This can be compared to information about cash transactions involving the particular POS system, to determine if the content is correct (reconciliation).
Typically, the count at the end of the day is undertaken manually, which can be time consuming, especially where cash trays from multiple POS systems need to be reconciled (such as in a supermarket or department store).
Also, current POS systems rely on the operator to identify when compartments in the cash drawer need to be emptied/refilled.
In addition, errors or fraud by operators of a POS system can only be identified after reconciliation at the end of the operating period, and to ensure that any errors or fraud are tracked to the responsible operator, conventional cash drawers must be reconciled every time the operator changes.
Furthermore, conventional POS systems do not keep track the contents of a cash drawer throughout its operation—only the starting content and content at reconciliation are known. This information can be useful for insurance purposes, where the contents are lost (for example through fire or theft).